Buying service for a leave

Learn about your options for buying service during or after a leave of absence.

1. Eligibility for buying service for a leave

3. Purchase options

5. What the cost will be

7. Process: lump-sum payment

2. Which leaves you can buy

4. What deadlines are involved

6. Process: continuous contributions

8. What to discuss with your employer

Which leaves you can buy

A leave of absence is an employer-approved absence from work. It can include general and shared-cost leaves under a collective agreement or the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

If you take an unpaid or partially paid leave, you can buy service for the time you were not contributing to the plan.
If you take a leave with full pay, you continue to earn service and do not need to buy it. Your pension contributions continue during a paid leave.

Your cost and purchase options for buying a leave depend on whether your leave is ESA-approved.

ESA-approved leaves

Maternity
Parental/adoption
Family responsibility
Compassionate care
Critical illness or injury
Leave respecting disappearance of a child
Leave respecting death of a child
Leave respecting domestic or sexual violence
Bereavement
Jury duty
COVID-19-related
Personal illness or injury

Only a person who gives birth can buy service for maternity leaves. Either parent can buy service for parental leaves. Any adoptive parent can buy service for adoption leaves.

Other leaves

Leaves not listed above are not covered by the ESA. These are referred to as “general” leaves. The kind of leave you take affects the purchase options you have when buying service.

Although this list is regularly updated, you should consult your employer or the ESA for the most up-to-date leaves and information.

Layoff periods

You can buy service for a period of layoff as a general leave of absence if:

You were laid off and placed on a recall list.
You worked a continuing contract or had seniority rights at the time of layoff and were eligible and chose to join the recall list.
You worked a temporary contract and were laid off before the contract expired, and were eligible and chose to join the recall list. In this case, you can apply to purchase the remaining months of your temporary contract

You must apply to buy service for a layoff period either while you are an active member or within 30 days of ending employment with all plan employers.

If you expect your layoff will extend beyond six months, and your recall rights have not expired, you must apply within 30 days after the six-month period ends. This is because after six months the plan considers you to have terminated employment for pension purposes.